Chapter 192: 300,000-Strong Army

Nagato's words undoubtedly affirmed the views of the radical faction, and for a moment, the radicals, who already made up the majority within the Akatsuki, all wore excited smiles on their faces.

As for those moderates who believed in the perspective of peaceful dialogue, they all suddenly looked dejected, and some ninjas even looked at Nagato with a hint of disappointment and resentment.

However, besides the radicals and the moderates, there were also a few level-headed centrists, or perhaps one could call them the steady faction, within the Akatsuki. A very elderly ninja frowned and said:

"Lord Nagato, it is fine among us high-ranking members, but those ordinary ninjas will likely find it hard to accept your point of view... After all, this is too far removed from the original purpose of our Akatsuki!"

This was indeed true; the Jonin who had managed to reach the upper echelons were, to a certain extent, beneficiaries of the status quo, and most were quite realistic, naturally not caring much for the Akatsuki's concept of exchanging dialogue for peace.

Most Akatsuki Jonin worshipped Uzumaki Nagato's power far more than they cared for the so-called concept of peaceful dialogue; they obeyed Uzumaki Nagato as the leader of the Akatsuki, not the Akatsuki organization as a whole.

However, for ordinary ninjas, the Akatsuki's pursuit of peace was, if not deeply rooted in their hearts, at least highly marketable. Many Akatsuki ninjas were true idealists, the kind willing to give their lives for the Akatsuki's concept of peaceful dialogue.

If the ratio of idealists to realists among the upper-echelon ninjas was about three to seven, then among the lower-echelon ninjas, this ratio was basically reversed; nearly seventy percent of the rank-and-file ninjas belonged to the idealist faction!

"It doesn't matter... those ninjas who cannot accept my views are also at the bottom of the barrel in terms of strength. My plan never required them to play any role; they only need to quietly guard the base."

Nagato spoke coldly, and this was not wrong; the weaker the ninja, the more they pursued so-called peaceful dialogue, whereas powerful ninjas preferred using violence to make others submit.

Although people of high aspirations felt this pursuit was far too idealistic, they had to admit that the more idealistic the pursuit, the more it could attract the common people at the bottom.

"I am speaking the truth. If I truly am defeated, surrendering is your best choice to minimize losses."

It was as if a thunderclap had sounded in the clear sky, shaking the entire Ninja World.

The Akatsuki had declared war on the Five Great Ninja Villages! And they announced they would unify all ninjas to establish a massive, unprecedented nation!

Once this news spread, almost all the ninjas in the Ninja World, and even the ordinary commoners, were completely bewildered. Beyond feeling shocked by the news, they were also filled with a sense of unreality regarding the Akatsuki's actions.

For so many years, the Akatsuki had indeed accumulated great prestige in the Ninja World, but only half of this reputation came from Nagato's strength, while the other half came from the Akatsuki's ideal of peaceful dialogue and resolving all disputes through communication.

However, because there was a leader like Uzumaki Nagato, other Great Ninja Villages would previously give the Akatsuki three points of leeway. But if one had no self-awareness and truly mistook Uzumaki Nagato's strength for their own, then the Jonin present would likely be taught a very harsh lesson.

"With my strength, those ordinary ninjas are completely incapable of hindering my plan. In situations where the gap is too large, the casualties caused will actually be smaller."

Regardless of how many thoughts the Jonin present had, after Nagato personally announced the order, they only had one choice:

"Yes, understood!"

Although the Akatsuki was now known as the sixth largest organization in the Ninja World, in reality, it still had an insurmountable gap compared to the Five Great Ninja Villages. It was only because Nagato's own strength made up for this deficiency; otherwise, the combined strength of these people would not even equal one-fifth of any Great Ninja Village!

"I am very clear on this point, so rest assured. You, my direct subordinates, do not need to truly fight directly against other ninja villages—these are all my tasks. To put it bluntly, if I am truly defeated, everyone present can just surrender directly."

"Lord Nagato, why would you say such things! We could never do something like surrendering..."

The words spoken by this old ninja were very spineless, and many young ninjas glared at him after hearing this, though some older, steadier ninjas nodded slightly upon hearing his words.

"Lord Nagato, as long as you have a clear idea in your mind, that is fine. I hope you understand that whether it is pursuing peace through dialogue or wanting to rule the entire Ninja World, the only thing you can rely on in the end is your own strength... In this regard, we in the Akatsuki cannot offer you much help, at most assisting you in cleaning up the aftermath after the war, clearing the battlefield, and maintaining order."

"There is no need to pursue efficiency in surprise attacks; we can openly declare war on other ninja villages—this time I will use my own strength to completely conquer the other Great Ninja Villages and let them understand that the era has changed!"

"I will keep an eye on them. As long as we achieve a few consecutive victories, even those more conservative Akatsuki members will change their attitudes."

Hearing this, the elderly ninja nodded slightly, then spoke again:

"Also, be careful; some ninjas might do something extreme in the conflict between ideals and reality..."

Although they possessed tens of thousands of ninjas, in terms of numbers, they were almost half of those Great Ninja Villages that had 100,000 ninjas. However, by comparison, the Great Ninja Villages almost all had thousands of Jonin, while the Akatsuki only had about 100, and their average strength was still a cut weaker than the Jonin of the Great Ninja Villages.

Therefore, within the Akatsuki, the number of moderates likely accounted for sixty percent of the entire organization, but in terms of strength, they only accounted for at most ten or twenty percent.

It could be said that the Akatsuki was currently like a large wonton with thin skin and a big filling, relying entirely on its surface to hold up, while in reality, it was seriously failing to live up to its name.

Seeing that the subordinates seemed to want to say something more, Nagato waved his hand directly:

"Alright, the matter is settled. Let's draft a battle plan first!"

The Akatsuki was able to develop and grow in such a short time largely by relying on this kind of idealistic propaganda. As a result, now that the Akatsuki had suddenly declared war on all Five Great Ninja Villages and announced the unification of the Ninja World, it truly shattered everyone's expectations.

To say nothing else, just as the Akatsuki declared war, several hundred ninjas defected, all of whom were ninjas unable to accept such a huge transformation of the Akatsuki. Regarding this, Nagato did not send subordinates to hunt them down; he simply erased their names from the Akatsuki, indicating that they were no longer members of the Akatsuki.

And the other Five Great Ninja Villages and Five Great Nations of the entire Ninja World were even more critical of the Akatsuki's transformation, and had even begun to coordinate to prepare to form a Ninja Allied Forces to jointly crusade against the Akatsuki.

This time, it was not just the ninja villages coordinating; the Five Great Nations also summoned their own armies. Eight years had passed, and the armies of the Five Great Nations had all become "chakra-fied." Every soldier could refine chakra, and now there were even requirements for chakra to join the army.

However, because they already had ninja villages as their primary military force, the armies of the Five Great Nations were less like external combat units and more like internal stability-maintenance police forces, and their strength was far inferior to the ninjas of the ninja villages.

The chakra volume of an ordinary soldier was roughly equivalent to that of an eleven or twelve-year-old Ninja Academy Student; those who could possess the chakra volume of a Genin could already serve as a squad leader commanding a dozen people.

However, in terms of numbers, the size of these armies was about two or three times that of the ninja villages. For instance, the Land of Fire, which had the largest population, had an army numbering as many as 500,000.

Considering that the Land of Fire had a population of about 300 million, this so-called army could really only function as a police force.

But no matter how much these armies were police forces, the numbers were there; added together, there were nearly 2 million people. Just by piling on numbers, they could crush the ninja villages before the Universal Chakra Plan was implemented.

In the Akatsuki's conference room, Nagato looked at the intelligence in his hand, then placed it on the table and said indifferently:

"It seems these people have been quite stimulated. Not to mention the Five Great Ninja Villages, even the Five Great Nations have joined forces!"

"That bunch of self-important Daimyo actually value our Akatsuki so much; it really surprises me a bit."

"After all, Lord Nagato, you have already announced that you will unify the Five Great Nations. No matter how shortsighted those Daimyo are, they can see the threat of the Akatsuki now, right?"

A high-ranking Akatsuki member spoke, but then another Akatsuki member shook his head:

"Those Daimyo and ninjas are in two different circles. They don't know how powerful Lord Nagato is. Perhaps in their eyes, the so-called Ninja World War is just about having the most ninjas under one's command to have the greatest advantage!"

"For example, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth has no intention of joining forces with other ninja villages and countries at all. It is said that he has already summoned his army and is preparing to attack the Land of Rain!"

Nagato was very clear in his heart that the Daimyo of the Land of Earth was the only Daimyo who had not been controlled, so his behavior was very normal; on the contrary, the actions of the Daimyo of the Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning countries, who were currently uniting, were the ones that could truly be called abnormal.

After all, just as that high-ranking Akatsuki member said, how powerful the Akatsuki—or rather, Nagato—was, was something only some high-ranking ninjas could understand. To those Daimyo, they always felt that so-called powerful ninjas could be completely flattened by sheer numbers.

A situation like this, where the other four Great Nation Daimyo began to join forces the moment the Akatsuki declared war, was, to put it bluntly, just Uchiha Feiyu concentrating all the heads for the sake of easy harvesting.

"Since the Land of Earth is so enthusiastic, our Akatsuki cannot lose our manners. I will personally take action to send this Land of Earth army on their way, and then take the opportunity to take down the entire Iwagakure!"

After Uzumaki Nagato finished speaking with a relaxed expression, he did not discuss it further with anyone else, and his whole body disappeared without a trace after a burst of spatial fluctuations.

"Has Lord Nagato learned Space-Time Ninjutsu again? He is truly worthy of being the Child of Prophecy who has achieved Awakening of the Rinnegan."

"That's great! With Space-Time Ninjutsu, Lord Nagato can be said to be able to advance and retreat at will. Even if the Land of Earth or Iwagakure has any traps, they will definitely not be able to trap Lord Nagato!"

Seeing Nagato use Space-Time Ninjutsu to disappear so abruptly, many Akatsuki ninjas suddenly became excited. With Space-Time Ninjutsu, Nagato had countless opportunities to start over. With his strength, wouldn't this round for the Akatsuki be secure?!

Nagato went very quickly, only to find that he had arrived too early; the Land of Earth's army had not even finished assembling.

The speed at which the Land of Earth army assembled was nowhere near as fast as that of ninjas, but since they were all super-soldiers possessing chakra, and the technology of the Ninja World had developed to a level approaching modern society, it did not take months to gather the numbers as it would have in the age of cold weapons; it only took a dozen days or so.

Having waited for nearly half a month, Nagato finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that this army had finally finished assembling, and subsequently began waiting for the army to set out.

This time, the Land of Earth had assembled a massive army of 300,000, accounting for nearly eighty percent of all the Land of Earth's military forces, clearly intending to show off their power.

After all, the Land of Earth was the only nation not controlled by Uchiha Feiyu, and the high-ranking officials of this country still maintained their stereotypical impressions of ninjas; the Daimyo of the Land of Earth felt that with 300,000 troops in hand, the advantage was his, and wouldn't flattening the Akatsuki be as easy as lifting a hand?

But the mobilization of such a 300,000-strong army was also a very troublesome matter; at the very least, their speed of movement was far slower than that of ninjas. Uzumaki Nagato waited another seven or eight days on the prepared battlefield before finally seeing the shadow of that 300,000-strong army.

Looking at the army setting up camp in the distance, Uzumaki Nagato, holding a Sharingan Crystal Ball in his hand, let out a long sigh:

"These ninja armies really have no efficiency at all! I don't know where that Daimyo of the Land of Earth got the nerve to think that he could take action against the Akatsuki with these troops."

Not to mention combat ability, just in terms of flexibility and mobility, soldiers simply cannot compare to ninjas; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to wait here, staring blankly for so many days!

He casually tossed the Sharingan Crystal Ball in his hand into the sky, and the Sharingan Crystal Ball that flew into the sky instantly erupted with red light.

A powerful Genjutsu ripple swept across, quickly controlling all the soldiers of the Land of Earth; the entire process was extremely smooth, and he felt almost no resistance at all.

There was no help for it; among the 300,000-strong army of the Land of Earth before him, one couldn't even pick out seven or eight Jonin, so their resistance to Genjutsu was close to zero, naturally resulting in them being controlled with ease.

(End of this chapter)